Millions of Americans have been drinking tap water contaminated with chemical chlorine byproducts that are far more than what studies suggest may be safe for pregnant women, two environmental groups say in a new study.

Work on the 2007 farm bill comes at an exciting time for agriculture in America. Adding energy crops as a third major source of income, along with food and fiber, has the potential to profoundly change the economics of agriculture, boost incomes and revitalize the countryside.

MSNBC Published January 8, 2002 Millions of Americans have been drinking tap water contaminated with potentially harmful byproducts of chlorine - and often at levels in excess of what studies show to be safe for pregnant women, two environmental groups say in a new report. Chlorine is commonly used to disinfect drinking water. When it is added to water that contains organic matter such as runoff from farms or lawns, however, it can form compounds such as chloroform that can cause illness.

Drive across the empty reaches of the Great Plains, from the lost promise of Valentine, Neb., to the shadowless side roads into Sunray, Tex., and what you see is a land that has lost its purpose. Many of the towns set in this infinity of flat have a listless look, with shuttered main streets and schools given over to the grave.

U.S. farmers should be required to control soil erosion and fertilizer runoff from all land eligible for crop subsidies -- which would be a major expansion of "conservation compliance" rules now in place, an environmental group said on Monday.

The federal government is promising 43% more water for California farmers in new irrigation contracts, meaning new dams would have to be built in the next two decades, a new environmental report warns.

Finding ways to reduce fossil fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions while producing enough energy to support economic development worldwide is this century’s preeminent challenge. We must meet this challenge while simultaneously reducing environmental degradation, poverty and hunger. The United States must make a sustained commitment to invest in and develop renewable energy sources that contribute to meeting these challenges.